New Delhi: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised the ceiling prices of coronary stents with effect from the beginning of April, 2024, in tune with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) change for the year 2023 over the previous year.
The Authority notified revised ceiling prices of 923 scheduled formulations with effect from April 1, 2024, in tune with the change in terms of the Wholesale Price Index announced for the preceding calendar year of 2023 over the year 2022. The prices have been revised to the tune of 0.00551 per cent from the beginning of April, 2024.
The price of bare metal stents, according to the revised order, will be Rs 10,509.79 per unit, while the drug eluting stents (DES) including metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS)/biodegradable stents will have the revised price of Rs. 38,267.18 per unit.
The Authority directed that all the existing manufacturers and importers of Coronary Stents having maximum retail price lower than the revised ceiling price (plus Goods and Services Taxes as applicable, if any), may revise the existing MRP of coronary stent, on the basis of WPI @ 0.00551% for the year 2023 over 2022 in accordance with the provisions of the Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO), 2013.
As per Para 24(4) of DPCO 2013, every retailer and dealer shall display price list and the supplementary price list, if any, as furnished by the manufacturer or importers, on a conspicuous part of the premises where he carries on business in a manner so as to be easily accessible to any person wishing to consult
the same.
“The manufacturers not complying with the ceiling price and notes specified hereinabove shall be liable to deposit the overcharged amount along with interest thereon under the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 read with Essential Commodities Act, 1955,” said the order.
It may be noted that the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has notified inclusion of the Coronary Stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2015 and 2022, based on recommendations by the expert committee constituted to review and revise the list based on requirement.
The sub-committee which recommended the inclusion of coronary stents in the NLEM 2015, said that the inclusion was considering the high burden of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the country, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and that the coronary artery disease is a public health problem.
Although, medical devices are different from drugs in respect of their nature, mechanism of action, manufacturing, quality control, mode of administration/implantation, etc, coronary stents are among the categories of medical devices which have been notified by the government of India as “Drug” under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
The NLEM 2022 was included in the Schedule I of the DPCO, 2013, following the release of the List, and the NPPA initiated measures from the end of the year 2022, to revise or fix the ceiling price of the drugs based on the revised Schedule.
